WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Brad Lord surveyed the Nationals clubhouse, which this late in spring contains a growing number of lockers emptied by youngsters who've been sent down to Minor League camp.
Lord admits to being surprised his locker is still full.
¡°I would say a little bit, yeah,¡± Lord said with a smile. ¡°You know, it's a good surprise. I've been throwing well, and so I think as long as I can keep that up and just keep having good outings, I think that work speaks for itself.¡±
Lord, the Nationals No. 23 prospect in the latest MLB Pipeline rankings and a non-roster invitee to camp, is one of a half dozen pitchers remaining in Nationals camp vying for the final two bullpen spots.
¡°He's been impressive,¡± Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.
Particularly impressive considering Lord, generally considered a starter, didn't learn he'd be working out of the bullpen this spring until he arrived in camp.
If the move fazed him, it hasn't shown.
His 6.57 ERA this spring ballooned because of an eight-run inning against Tampa Bay on Thursday where a questionable scoring decision and some iffy fielding behind him made all those runs earned. Aside from that outing, Lord has allowed only one earned run across his seven other spring appearances.
Sporting a four-seam fastball that's up a couple of ticks this spring to 98 mph, a sinker, a changeup and a slider, Lord has struck out seven and walked three in 12 1/3 innings, following Tuesday's 4-3 Nationals win against the Astros.
Pitching on back-to-back days for the first time this spring, Lord allowed a single and hit a batter in one inning of work.
¡°I feel like I bounced back very well,¡± Lord said. ¡°Felt better, or the same, if not better, as yesterday.¡±
Though Lord couldn't ever recall pitching in back-to-back games, he anticipated a good outing while in the bullpen.
¡°Warming up, the ball felt like it was coming out well -- body was moving,¡± Lord said. ¡°So I was like, 'Oh, yep, feel good'.¡±
Lord entered the game after starter Trevor Williams allowed a leadoff single in the sixth. He surrendered a single to Jon Singleton followed by a sacrifice fly to Victor Caratini. After hitting Mauricio Dub¨®n with a breaking ball, Lord induced a double-play grounder to second from Chas McCormick that ended the inning.
Lord's fastball hit 95 mph on the scoreboard radar gun. He needed only six pitches to record three outs.
¡°Six pitches, so quick day,¡± Lord said. ¡°I always want more. I'd always take more. But quick innings are nice, too.¡±
Tuesday's performance followed Monday's inning where he retired the Cardinals in order.
¡°I would say it's a pretty big step, because you really see how your body bounces back from throwing the previous day,¡± Lord said of pitching consecutive days.
An 18th-round selection by the Nationals out of South Florida in the 2022 Draft, the 25-year-old right-hander posted a 10-4 record accompanied by a Nationals system-best 2.43 ERA in 25 starts spanning three Minor League levels last season.
Lord excelled as a starter last year, but he isn't unfamiliar with pitching out of the bullpen. Ten of his 27 Minor League appearances in 2023 came in relief.
¡°It's a huge adrenaline rush,¡± Lord said. ¡°You don't get a whole week to mentally prepare, anything like that. So it's just kind of like, they call your name and it's an adrenaline rush to get ready and go out there and throw. So, I love it.¡±
The Nationals bullpen situation received a little more clarity prior to Tuesday's game when they sent Rule 5 Draft choice Evan Reifert back to Tampa Bay. The right-hander owned a 15.63 ERA this spring in large part because he walked 12 in 6 1/3 innings.
¡°His stuff is really good, he just wasn't able to find the zone consistently,¡± Martinez said.
Reifert's departure opens a spot on the Nationals' 40-man roster.